Writing can be an overwhelming subject to teach, especially
when you have two daughters preparing for the SAT essay, so I was excited to
review High School Essay Intensive
from the Institute for Excellence in Writing.
The Institute for Excellence in Writing brings you an effective method of
teaching writing. Unlike other programs which provide specific curriculum for
each individual grade level, Institute for Excellence in Writing offers teacher
training along with ready-made lessons which can be used over a range of grade
levels.
Andrew Pudewa is the principal speaker and director of the Institute
for Excellence in Writing. Although he is a graduate of the Talent Education
Institute in Matsumoto, Japan, he holds a Certificate of Child Brain
Development from the Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, his best endorsement is from a young Alaskan boy
who called him “the funny man with the wonderful words.” My girls would have to
agree, he made this class fun and they laughed several times throughout this
course. And while it is evident that Andrew Pudewa has a heart for
homeschoolers, he also has a heart for any educator who has willingly accepted
the responsibility of teaching students to write.
High School Essay Intensive is a DVD course that includes
five DVDs with accompanying handouts. The 28-page handout is the student’s
guide as they take this course. Andrew Pudewa keeps the students on track with
page numbers and allows plenty of time for the students to record notes from
each presentation. If you have multiple students taking this DVD course, you
will want each student to have their own handouts.
The DVD course includes four parts. In part one, Andrew
Pudewa addresses general strategies for writing – length, structure, invention,
and style. I would have to say my girls learned the most here! For example, they
learned about the TRIAC paragraph, a simple structure used to organize the
details in writing. And our whole family had fun building on the sentence
pattern variety! In part two, he prepares students for the new ACT essay. My
girls are preparing for the SAT, so they skipped this part and moved on to part
three. In part three, Andrew Pudewa prepares students for the redesigned SAT
essay. My girls now understand a critical analysis essay, annotation, and have
learned a template for easy outlining. In part four, he offers strategies for
the personal essay. Here, he expounds on planning, writing, editing, and
proofreading.
I love the way Andrew Pudewa interacts with his students
throughout this course and only wish my girls had the opportunity to be a live
pupil in his classroom. This course has been a huge help for my two in high
school, my husband, and myself! I am so thankful, Andrew Pudewa took the time
to share these powerful tools that have dramatically improved my students’
writing skills!
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